Oases



(NO Model.)

J. F. BARTLETT.

PASTENING DEVICE POR SHIPPING CASES. No. 355,497'. Patented Jan. 4, 1887.

INVENTOR h ATTORNEYS l UNITED STATES JAMEs FRANCIS PATENT OFFICE.

BARTLETT, OF ODLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO J. DVIGH'I PALMER, OF SAME PLAGE.

`vFASI-Erano DevlcE FOR SHIPPING-CASES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of'Letters Patent No. 355,497. dated January 4, 1887.

Application led September 23, 1885. Serial No. 177,924. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMEs FRANCIS BART- LETT, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Oleveland,in the connty'of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio,y have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastening Devices for Shipping Cases; and Ipdo declare the iollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention 'relates to shipping-cases and fastening devices therefor.

The object is to produce' an egg-carrier which can easily be opened and closed, which is capable of safe and firm closure in transportation, 'and will be strong at the fastenings; in which the retaining parts will be held and protected by portions of the cover, which portions .will serve also as 4means whereby any loosening of the :retaining parts may readily be cured, and in which the cover may be placed in position without particular attention. A

It is not broadly new to construct a shipping-case with a removable cover provided with a sliding bolt at one end and a catch at the other, the bolt to take into a slot in one end of the box portion of the case and the catch to take into a slot in the other end thereof; but in all shipping-cases of which I am aware the construction and attachment of the fastenings do not appear sufficiently/simple, the retainingdevices do not seem to be properly protected, when they become loose are not readily tightened, and the ends of the cover are not interchangeable.

The present invention consists in afastening for a shipping case of the kind in which the cover is provided at one end with a bolt and at the other with a catch, bolt and catch to take into suitable slots inthe ends of the box portion of the case, in which shipping case the catch,and the housing of the bolt also,

' if desired, are held in place and protected by catch or the bolt come loose it may be tightened by simply striking upon its cleat.

Furthermore, the invention consists in a i shipping-case the sides of the box portion of which are provided with slots, and with grooves over the slots and extending beyond them laterally, such grooves being filled by In the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, and in which like letters of reference designate corresponding parts, Figure 1 is a vertical longitiidinal section of a shipping-case for carrying eggs, showing the body or box portion divided by a partition into two parts for the reception of trays placed one upon another and separated by sheets of paper, showing the ends of the box, provided with holes for convenience of carrying, projecting a short distance above the sides of the case, the projecting portions grooved and the grooves provided with Strengthening-strips', also showing a removable cover having at one end a sliding bolt and at the other a catch, both the sliding bolt and the catch being provided with a spur or small projectiou,that on the sliding bolt forming a handle to move it back and forth, and that on the catch serving to stick it to the cover; also showing a sheetmetal plate that houses the bolt and retains it by friction from unnecessary sliding also showing a cleat protecting the sliding bolt and preserving and increasing the frictional contact between the same and metal plate, and

also showing the catch protected and held in place by a cleat. Fig. 2 is an end elevation with a portion broken away to show the cleat; also showing a slot which is entered by bolt or catch; also holes to serve as a handle, and (in 3 is a detail view of one of the trays with cylindrical cavities to contain eggs. Fig. 4 is a dotted lines) the spur of a bolt or catch. Fig.

. in position; also showing (in dotted lines) the -position of the slot and the bolt in the slot.

Fig. 5 is a detail View of the bottom of the fastening device, showing the housing and (in dotted lines) a cleat. -Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of the shippingease,taken through the fastening device, showing an end of the case provided with a strengthening-strip and having a slot; also showing the cover, the sliding bolt, the sheet-metal plate that retains it in position, and the cleat that protects this and keeps upthe frietional contact between the bolt and metal plate, and also showing a substitute device for the holes in the end of the box to serve as a handle for carrying the case.

In the drawings a box or receptacle is represented as divided by a partition into two compartments for the reception of rectangular trays made of paper-board, which are pro-` vided with any number of pockets or eggreceptacles made of similar material, connected to each other and also to the tray,in the usual manner of forming this class of trays, after the eggs have been placed in t-he trays, as each tray is put in place a sheet of paper being placed over it to separate the trays.

The box has ends A, which project a short distance above its sides, and are provided with slots c, which serve as keepers for' either a catch or a sliding bolt. The grain of the wood forming these ends runs in a vertical direct-ion, and to strengthen the ends, particularly at the slots, the inner faces of the projecting portions have a horizontal groove, a', into which islaid a strip, a2, extending from one side of the box to the other. This groove and strip are just above the slot a', particularly to afford strength there, and generally to prevent the projecting portion of an end from being broken ofi'. In order further to strengthen an end at the slot, a wire staple is driven into the top of the end immediately over and laterally beyond the slot, straddlingit.-

B represents a removable cover, which is provided at one end with asliding bolt, b, and at the other end with a stationary bolt or catch, b.

It will be observed that the two bolts or the sliding bolt and the catch are counterparts of each other, each being a piece of metal having a foot and heel portion and a spur or projection at a right angle therefrom. The spur or projection on the piece of metal,when used as the sliding bolt, serves as ahandle to move the bolt forward to lock the ease, or backward to unlock it.V The bolt is held in operative position under the cover bya metal plate, bwhich serves as a housing, and is secured to the removable cover by nails, screws, or otherwise. This metal plate not only serves as a housing for the sliding bolt and to fasten it to the cover, but also serves to retain it against slipping or sliding and hold it in an extended or re'tracted position by friction, to increase the friction between the plate and the bolt when desired.

The stationary bolt or catch b', as above remarked, is of the same form and size as the sliding bolt, but it is attached to the removable cover in a different manner from that employed in attaching the sliding bolt, its projection or spur fitting tight in a hole or well in the cover. Along the under side of the cover, and in such position as to underlie the catch and the bolt, or with one over the catch alone, are two cleats, b3. These cleats are attached to the cover by nails, brads, or screws, and are recessed at about their centers to receive the bolt, with its housing and the catch. These cleats are therefore not merely for the purpose of strengthening the cover, but serve as a protection to the bolt and the catch, while in the case of the catch it is a cleat alone that holds it iirmly in place. In addition to serving as protecting and retaining means for the bolt and catch, the cleats subserve the further function of a tightening device.A If the bolt should become loose in its housing by wear in long and constant use, it may be rendered tight-that is, the frictional contact of the housing may be rendered 'closer--by a blow upon the cleat.

The slots in the end pieces that receive the bolts being similar, it makes no difference which end of the box is used for the` sliding bolt. This is a great advantage over those shippingcases in lwhich the construction will permit the cover to iit in only one way, as this case requires no care or attention in putting it together.

In the outer face of each end of the shippingcase I provide four finger holes or cavities, which subserve the purpose of handles; but instead of these I may employ a notch, as shown in Fig. 6. Y

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a shippingcase the cover of which is provided at one end with a bolt and at the other with a catch, bolt and catch to take into suitable slots in the ends of the box portion of the case, the combination, with a cover having a hole or well, and with a bolt or catch having a spur projecting from its foot and en tering the hole or well in the cover, of a cleat recessed and attached to the cover, as described, bolt or catch being covered by the cleat at the recess-that is, boxed therebyw-and held in position, adj usted, and protected by the cleat, substantially as specified.

2. In a shipping-case, the combination,with a cover having retaining devices projecting from it' laterally, of a box portion having ends projecting above the cover, such ends being slotted to receive the retaining devices of the cover, being grooved across the upper margins of the slots, and having cross-pieces secured in the grooves to serve as strengtheningstrips, substantially as described.

3. A shipping-case cover having a hole at l OO each end, provided with pieces of metal consisting of a footportion to serve as aretaining part, and a. spur to enter a hole in the cover, eachpiece of metal capable of serving either as a sliding bolt or a stationary catch, and one piece being the' counterpart ofthe other,whereby either end of the cover may be placed and held at either1 end of the-box, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the cover having a hole, the sliding bolt, the metal plete or housing, and the recessed cleat, substantially as specified.

5. Ashipping-case the box portion or: which JAMEs FRANCIS BARTLETTQ .Witnessesz JNO. J. KELLY,- B. J. LEWIS. 

